WEBVTT

00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.780
 Thank you so much for having me here today.

00:00:03.700 --> 00:00:08.900
 You don't know how much of a joy it is to bring the things that I love

00:00:08.900 --> 00:00:13.320
 to the people that God cares and loves for.

00:00:13.400 --> 00:00:15.540
 This is a real joy for me.

00:00:17.059 --> 00:00:21.740
 So we are going to look at this theme of steadfast in humility.

00:00:21.740 --> 00:00:28.240
 And I think humility is a really good word that captures Gladys Alwood.

00:00:28.239 --> 00:00:35.019
 And I think she's going to help us wrestle with that pull

00:00:35.019 --> 00:00:41.579
 that I think we can all feel about wanting to leave a legacy in this world.

00:00:41.780 --> 00:00:43.399
 We want to be remembered.

00:00:44.560 --> 00:00:50.539
 We want people to know our names both now and after we're gone.

00:00:51.379 --> 00:00:55.799
 We want to be people worthy of honour and known to be worthy of honour.

00:00:58.240 --> 00:01:03.020
 So I wonder as we start today what kind of legacy you want to leave.

00:01:03.539 --> 00:01:06.920
 I have to think about this for my own life.

00:01:07.000 --> 00:01:08.780
 How do I want to be remembered?

00:01:08.939 --> 00:01:10.599
 Do I want to be remembered?

00:01:10.920 --> 00:01:15.180
 What are the things that I want to be known for after I'm gone?

00:01:15.859 --> 00:01:20.780
 And what's remarkable about Gladys Alwood is she's not a person

00:01:20.780 --> 00:01:21.939
 that strives for this.

00:01:22.000 --> 00:01:24.960
 And that's going to come out in her story.

00:01:24.959 --> 00:01:30.599
 She wasn't someone who wanted to be recognised in the circles that she moved in,

00:01:31.079 --> 00:01:34.199
 which I find can be tempting for us,

00:01:34.359 --> 00:01:38.219
 that temptation to be recognised in our communities,

00:01:38.739 --> 00:01:41.139
 in our jobs, in our social circles.

00:01:42.739 --> 00:01:44.359
 Her world's no different.

00:01:44.939 --> 00:01:49.439
 It's not a problem that just belongs to our generation.

00:01:49.439 --> 00:01:52.780
 It's a perennial universal problem.

00:01:53.840 --> 00:01:58.659
 But I think for her it's her prayerful reliance on the Lord

00:01:58.659 --> 00:02:02.340
 that allows her to be free of that need.

00:02:02.439 --> 00:02:04.759
 It just doesn't have a hold on her.

00:02:05.400 --> 00:02:08.139
 She's just not interested in it.

00:02:08.139 --> 00:02:16.419
 And so I'm going to tell you her story, her remarkable story.

00:02:16.739 --> 00:02:19.299
 I'm going to tell you just some of it,

00:02:19.579 --> 00:02:23.539
 but it's full of fascinating twists and turns.

00:02:24.359 --> 00:02:30.099
 But it is the story of a person making decision after decision,

00:02:30.439 --> 00:02:32.599
 prayerfully making decision after decision,

00:02:33.159 --> 00:02:34.419
 to pursue God's will.

00:02:34.419 --> 00:02:39.019
 She's a woman of great spiritual momentum.

00:02:40.199 --> 00:02:42.799
 She's very unimpressive outwardly.

00:02:42.979 --> 00:02:44.560
 She's a tiny little thing.

00:02:45.939 --> 00:02:47.819
 But she has gravitas.

00:02:48.139 --> 00:02:50.119
 She's got huge spiritual momentum.

00:02:50.699 --> 00:02:53.379
 She didn't know where God would take her in this world,

00:02:54.359 --> 00:02:56.659
 but she made prayerful choice after choice

00:02:56.659 --> 00:02:59.819
 to live for him and not for herself.

00:02:59.819 --> 00:03:06.519
 So Gladys was born into a Christian family in London

00:03:06.519 --> 00:03:10.139
 right at the beginning of the 20th century, so 1902.

00:03:11.060 --> 00:03:13.400
 Her dad was a warden at the local church.

00:03:13.979 --> 00:03:17.719
 Her mum raised the siblings in her home,

00:03:17.959 --> 00:03:19.459
 you know, according to Christian values.

00:03:19.759 --> 00:03:21.359
 But they weren't really sticking for Gladys.

00:03:21.439 --> 00:03:22.259
 She wasn't interested.

00:03:22.259 --> 00:03:24.479
 It was in her teenage years

00:03:24.479 --> 00:03:27.639
 that things really switch on for her spiritually.

00:03:27.639 --> 00:03:34.979
 Soon after that, what we might call a conversion experience,

00:03:36.059 --> 00:03:41.099
 for her it was the idea of millions of people in China

00:03:41.099 --> 00:03:44.539
 dying without access to the gospel.

00:03:45.079 --> 00:03:48.099
 That's what really gripped her heart.

00:03:48.099 --> 00:03:53.379
 Now, what she did about that

00:03:53.379 --> 00:03:57.019
 is she tried to convince everyone else to go instead.

00:03:57.599 --> 00:03:58.280
 You need to go.

00:03:58.400 --> 00:03:59.060
 No, you need to go.

00:03:59.079 --> 00:04:00.000
 No, you need to go.

00:04:00.599 --> 00:04:03.759
 And one day her brother got so frustrated with her

00:04:03.759 --> 00:04:05.699
 in their kitchen at home

00:04:05.699 --> 00:04:07.799
 that he just kind of had an outburst

00:04:07.799 --> 00:04:10.840
 and said, Gladys, stop bugging us.

00:04:11.019 --> 00:04:12.299
 Why don't you go?

00:04:12.579 --> 00:04:13.539
 And then he stormed out.

00:04:14.879 --> 00:04:15.979
 So they got her thinking.

00:04:16.100 --> 00:04:17.899
 I don't think she'd even thought that was a possibility.

00:04:19.020 --> 00:04:24.180
 So she was 27 when she was accepted for missionary training

00:04:24.180 --> 00:04:26.620
 with China Inland Mission.

00:04:26.780 --> 00:04:28.400
 I don't know if you've heard of that organisation.

00:04:28.780 --> 00:04:32.439
 It was an organisation that Hudson Taylor had set up

00:04:32.439 --> 00:04:34.379
 about 70 years before this.

00:04:34.920 --> 00:04:37.420
 And he set it up because lots of the missionaries

00:04:37.420 --> 00:04:41.640
 were staying on the eastern coast of China,

00:04:41.820 --> 00:04:43.980
 but they weren't heading inland.

00:04:43.980 --> 00:04:49.120
 So there was a vast interior that did not have access to the gospel.

00:04:49.319 --> 00:04:53.560
 And so he sets up the aptly termed China Inland Mission.

00:04:53.780 --> 00:04:57.759
 So that's who she goes and approaches for missionary training.

00:04:57.759 --> 00:04:59.899
 She is accepted.

00:05:01.240 --> 00:05:03.319
 But soon the wheels fall off.

00:05:05.019 --> 00:05:08.360
 She had been educated up to a point of...

00:05:08.360 --> 00:05:10.319
 at 14 years of age and then had stopped.

00:05:10.420 --> 00:05:13.240
 She'd gone out and worked in a shop instead.

00:05:13.240 --> 00:05:20.120
 And she wasn't demonstrating a proficiency in learning language.

00:05:21.079 --> 00:05:24.439
 And so China Inland Mission deemed her unacceptable

00:05:24.439 --> 00:05:26.280
 for missionary service

00:05:26.280 --> 00:05:30.780
 because of her language acquisition skills were lacking.

00:05:30.779 --> 00:05:32.479
 So she wasn't allowed to continue.

00:05:33.039 --> 00:05:34.399
 She was heartbroken.

00:05:34.479 --> 00:05:35.439
 She was devastated.

00:05:36.299 --> 00:05:36.739
 Devastated.

00:05:38.119 --> 00:05:42.439
 China Inland Mission said when they brought her in

00:05:42.439 --> 00:05:45.399
 for kind of the exit interview, as we might call it,

00:05:45.919 --> 00:05:50.279
 she did say to them that she had really learnt to pray in this time.

00:05:50.359 --> 00:05:52.279
 She may not have learnt language,

00:05:52.959 --> 00:05:55.779
 but she had learnt to pray at this time.

00:05:55.779 --> 00:06:00.419
 I love what Tim Keller says on prayer.

00:06:00.679 --> 00:06:01.179
 He says,

00:06:01.699 --> 00:06:04.279
 God will either give us what we ask

00:06:04.279 --> 00:06:07.699
 or give us what we would have asked for

00:06:07.699 --> 00:06:10.119
 if we knew everything he knew.

00:06:12.539 --> 00:06:14.039
 So she keeps praying.

00:06:15.299 --> 00:06:18.099
 She ends up in the home as a housekeeper

00:06:18.099 --> 00:06:21.519
 of a retired China Inland Mission couple.

00:06:21.679 --> 00:06:22.959
 So they've returned from the field

00:06:22.959 --> 00:06:24.379
 and she goes into their house

00:06:24.379 --> 00:06:27.860
 to help them in their later years.

00:06:28.519 --> 00:06:30.100
 And as she watches them,

00:06:30.300 --> 00:06:32.699
 she sees their prayerful reliance on the Lord.

00:06:32.779 --> 00:06:36.319
 And she continues hearing stories about China,

00:06:36.620 --> 00:06:38.980
 about the work of the gospel there.

00:06:41.839 --> 00:06:44.159
 And she eventually finds out

00:06:44.159 --> 00:06:48.500
 about a 73-year-old Scottish widow

00:06:48.500 --> 00:06:51.180
 looking for someone to join her

00:06:51.180 --> 00:06:53.459
 in ministry in northern China.

00:06:54.379 --> 00:06:57.079
 So she asks if she could come.

00:06:57.939 --> 00:06:58.939
 This Scottish widow,

00:06:59.100 --> 00:07:00.360
 Jeannie Lawson is her name.

00:07:00.420 --> 00:07:01.120
 She's quite very,

00:07:01.180 --> 00:07:01.879
 she's very dow,

00:07:01.980 --> 00:07:02.719
 she's very serious.

00:07:03.060 --> 00:07:03.579
 And she says,

00:07:03.659 --> 00:07:04.060
 basically,

00:07:04.519 --> 00:07:05.819
 if you can find your way to me,

00:07:06.480 --> 00:07:07.040
 you're welcome.

00:07:08.180 --> 00:07:11.019
 This woman had been looking for someone young

00:07:11.019 --> 00:07:12.680
 to come and take over her work.

00:07:13.019 --> 00:07:13.800
 She's widowed,

00:07:14.300 --> 00:07:14.839
 she's elderly,

00:07:14.980 --> 00:07:16.040
 she wants someone to come

00:07:16.040 --> 00:07:17.219
 and take over the work.

00:07:17.220 --> 00:07:21.780
 And so that's what Gladys is now trying to do.

00:07:21.780 --> 00:07:24.320
 So she saves up for a train ticket.

00:07:24.960 --> 00:07:27.280
 I don't know if you've gone on like webjet.com

00:07:27.280 --> 00:07:29.000
 and looked up flights.

00:07:29.260 --> 00:07:30.580
 What are the cheapest flights?

00:07:30.880 --> 00:07:31.980
 The ones that are like,

00:07:32.320 --> 00:07:32.640
 you know,

00:07:32.700 --> 00:07:34.620
 five stops around the world

00:07:34.620 --> 00:07:37.860
 before you want to get to your destination.

00:07:37.860 --> 00:07:38.939
 For her,

00:07:39.040 --> 00:07:40.139
 the cheapest train ticket

00:07:40.139 --> 00:07:42.540
 that she could get to China

00:07:42.540 --> 00:07:44.759
 would take her through Europe,

00:07:45.480 --> 00:07:45.879
 Russia,

00:07:46.740 --> 00:07:47.379
 Siberia,

00:07:47.860 --> 00:07:49.020
 and into northern China.

00:07:49.879 --> 00:07:51.860
 So she put it on lay-by.

00:07:52.020 --> 00:07:54.379
 She would go and make payments

00:07:54.379 --> 00:07:57.220
 at the train station

00:07:57.220 --> 00:07:58.879
 to pay off this ticket.

00:07:58.879 --> 00:08:01.279
 She eventually got the money,

00:08:01.759 --> 00:08:02.540
 pay for the ticket.

00:08:03.240 --> 00:08:04.259
 The train teller said,

00:08:04.680 --> 00:08:06.339
 you really shouldn't be going, sweetheart.

00:08:06.600 --> 00:08:07.600
 You really shouldn't be going.

00:08:08.379 --> 00:08:11.379
 Because there was war on at the time

00:08:11.379 --> 00:08:14.480
 between China and Japan

00:08:14.480 --> 00:08:17.480
 and on one of China's allies was Russia.

00:08:19.719 --> 00:08:20.920
 But she sets off.

00:08:21.680 --> 00:08:22.240
 1932,

00:08:23.659 --> 00:08:24.920
 30 years of age,

00:08:25.000 --> 00:08:25.860
 she sets off.

00:08:26.659 --> 00:08:28.480
 She considered later the cost

00:08:28.480 --> 00:08:29.439
 that this would have been

00:08:29.439 --> 00:08:30.640
 for her family.

00:08:31.000 --> 00:08:31.819
 Because really,

00:08:32.039 --> 00:08:34.340
 if you're getting a train to China

00:08:34.340 --> 00:08:38.360
 through Europe, Russia, Siberia,

00:08:38.960 --> 00:08:41.560
 it's not easy to get your baby girl back, is it?

00:08:45.180 --> 00:08:47.240
 Right at the beginning of her journey,

00:08:48.460 --> 00:08:50.639
 she meets the Dutch couple.

00:08:50.800 --> 00:08:51.759
 So she's on the train.

00:08:52.300 --> 00:08:53.580
 She meets a Dutch couple

00:08:53.580 --> 00:08:57.180
 coming back from attending

00:08:57.180 --> 00:08:58.440
 the Keswick Convention.

00:08:58.480 --> 00:08:58.980
 in England.

00:08:59.200 --> 00:09:00.860
 So the Keswick Convention's like

00:09:00.860 --> 00:09:02.740
 going to Katoomba

00:09:02.740 --> 00:09:03.580
 or going to...

00:09:03.580 --> 00:09:04.960
 It's one of those big things.

00:09:05.740 --> 00:09:07.320
 And so they're getting the train

00:09:07.320 --> 00:09:09.740
 back home to Holland,

00:09:10.779 --> 00:09:11.600
 to the Netherlands,

00:09:12.000 --> 00:09:13.860
 and they have a conversation.

00:09:14.980 --> 00:09:16.440
 They talk with Gladys.

00:09:16.539 --> 00:09:17.920
 They learn that she's off to China

00:09:17.920 --> 00:09:18.620
 with the gospel.

00:09:19.340 --> 00:09:20.980
 And the woman in the couple

00:09:20.980 --> 00:09:23.759
 promises that at 9 o'clock,

00:09:23.759 --> 00:09:25.100
 every night,

00:09:25.100 --> 00:09:27.500
 she's going to pray for Gladys.

00:09:27.720 --> 00:09:28.399
 9 o'clock,

00:09:28.460 --> 00:09:28.779
 every night,

00:09:28.840 --> 00:09:30.139
 she's going to pray for Gladys

00:09:30.139 --> 00:09:32.100
 for the rest of her life.

00:09:33.600 --> 00:09:34.279
 She said,

00:09:34.360 --> 00:09:36.039
 can we write one another's names

00:09:36.039 --> 00:09:37.139
 in each other's Bibles

00:09:37.139 --> 00:09:39.039
 so we can remember each other?

00:09:41.100 --> 00:09:41.740
 The man,

00:09:41.799 --> 00:09:42.980
 I don't know if he felt awkward

00:09:42.980 --> 00:09:43.659
 at this point.

00:09:43.720 --> 00:09:44.860
 I don't know his motives,

00:09:45.539 --> 00:09:46.319
 what he was doing,

00:09:46.360 --> 00:09:47.480
 if he just wanted to help.

00:09:48.139 --> 00:09:49.440
 But he gives Gladys

00:09:49.440 --> 00:09:51.360
 a one-pound British note.

00:09:52.200 --> 00:09:53.879
 Now, this woman's not going back

00:09:53.879 --> 00:09:54.440
 to a country

00:09:54.440 --> 00:09:55.980
 where she can spend this, right?

00:09:56.080 --> 00:09:57.480
 But she's got this

00:09:57.480 --> 00:09:59.399
 one-pound British note

00:09:59.399 --> 00:10:00.220
 from this guy.

00:10:00.320 --> 00:10:01.340
 It's not a whole lot of money,

00:10:01.480 --> 00:10:02.139
 but, you know,

00:10:02.240 --> 00:10:02.920
 it's something,

00:10:03.240 --> 00:10:03.899
 as they say goodbye.

00:10:04.720 --> 00:10:06.320
 So Gladys is perplexed.

00:10:06.379 --> 00:10:07.700
 What am I going to do with this?

00:10:08.399 --> 00:10:10.320
 That note is going to save her life.

00:10:14.480 --> 00:10:15.879
 So because war

00:10:15.879 --> 00:10:17.180
 between China and Japan

00:10:17.179 --> 00:10:18.359
 had broken out

00:10:18.359 --> 00:10:19.279
 the year before,

00:10:19.599 --> 00:10:21.319
 she was rerouted

00:10:21.319 --> 00:10:23.079
 through different parts

00:10:23.079 --> 00:10:23.779
 of Russia.

00:10:25.539 --> 00:10:27.259
 It gets very complex

00:10:27.259 --> 00:10:28.099
 at one point.

00:10:28.199 --> 00:10:30.500
 She has to get off the train

00:10:30.500 --> 00:10:32.259
 because it won't go any further

00:10:32.259 --> 00:10:33.859
 into, you know,

00:10:33.979 --> 00:10:37.179
 a region where there's war going on.

00:10:37.539 --> 00:10:38.659
 She has to walk back

00:10:38.659 --> 00:10:39.839
 to the last station,

00:10:40.000 --> 00:10:41.359
 which is like a two-day walk,

00:10:41.479 --> 00:10:42.379
 so she has to sleep

00:10:42.379 --> 00:10:43.439
 in the snow overnight

00:10:43.439 --> 00:10:44.500
 on her suitcase

00:10:44.500 --> 00:10:45.659
 with the wolves howling.

00:10:45.659 --> 00:10:48.059
 It's all going on for her.

00:10:48.259 --> 00:10:49.000
 She makes it back

00:10:49.000 --> 00:10:50.079
 to the previous station

00:10:50.079 --> 00:10:51.799
 and soldiers tell her

00:10:51.799 --> 00:10:52.980
 the convoluted way

00:10:52.980 --> 00:10:54.059
 that she has to go

00:10:54.059 --> 00:10:55.579
 to get to the next spot

00:10:55.579 --> 00:10:58.179
 to avoid the scenes of battle.

00:10:58.179 --> 00:11:03.139
 as she's making that journey,

00:11:03.919 --> 00:11:07.459
 Russian soldiers take her passport away.

00:11:07.979 --> 00:11:09.579
 That's a very vulnerable position,

00:11:09.699 --> 00:11:10.000
 isn't it,

00:11:10.000 --> 00:11:10.719
 to be a woman

00:11:10.719 --> 00:11:12.759
 in the middle of Russia

00:11:12.759 --> 00:11:14.120
 without a passport.

00:11:14.120 --> 00:11:18.980
 They changed the profession

00:11:18.980 --> 00:11:20.560
 on her passport

00:11:20.560 --> 00:11:22.539
 from missionary

00:11:22.539 --> 00:11:25.200
 to machinist

00:11:25.200 --> 00:11:27.240
 because they wanted her

00:11:27.240 --> 00:11:30.500
 to work on the new machines

00:11:30.500 --> 00:11:32.440
 that they had in that city.

00:11:32.899 --> 00:11:34.220
 They wanted her to stay and work.

00:11:34.279 --> 00:11:35.159
 She was trapped.

00:11:35.860 --> 00:11:37.240
 She was trapped.

00:11:37.240 --> 00:11:39.279
 Some locals

00:11:39.279 --> 00:11:41.279
 at high cost

00:11:41.279 --> 00:11:43.120
 to their own personal safety

00:11:43.120 --> 00:11:45.580
 tried to think of a way

00:11:45.580 --> 00:11:46.980
 to help her escape.

00:11:47.460 --> 00:11:48.399
 There's a boat

00:11:48.399 --> 00:11:50.000
 leaving for Japan.

00:11:50.180 --> 00:11:50.940
 It's a Japanese boat

00:11:50.940 --> 00:11:52.100
 leaving for Japan.

00:11:52.620 --> 00:11:54.620
 Can they smuggle her onto it?

00:11:56.820 --> 00:11:58.740
 She makes it to the boat.

00:11:59.659 --> 00:12:01.060
 She's on the gangway.

00:12:03.100 --> 00:12:04.019
 Russian soldiers

00:12:04.019 --> 00:12:05.560
 literally grab her.

00:12:05.559 --> 00:12:09.379
 And what does she produce?

00:12:10.000 --> 00:12:11.119
 The one pound note

00:12:11.119 --> 00:12:13.739
 and they let go long enough

00:12:13.739 --> 00:12:14.879
 to grab it

00:12:14.879 --> 00:12:16.719
 for her to pull her arms back,

00:12:16.839 --> 00:12:17.439
 jump on the boat

00:12:17.439 --> 00:12:18.159
 and keep going.

00:12:18.659 --> 00:12:19.799
 So it saved her life.

00:12:19.859 --> 00:12:20.599
 She said that moment

00:12:20.599 --> 00:12:21.599
 was like escaping

00:12:21.599 --> 00:12:23.459
 a bird catcher's net.

00:12:25.299 --> 00:12:26.879
 I love how the Lord works

00:12:26.879 --> 00:12:28.339
 in amazing ways like that.

00:12:30.199 --> 00:12:31.559
 So she lands in Japan.

00:12:32.099 --> 00:12:32.739
 She was never supposed

00:12:32.739 --> 00:12:33.619
 to go through Japan.

00:12:33.620 --> 00:12:35.679
 She crosses into China.

00:12:36.220 --> 00:12:37.399
 She still has a further

00:12:37.399 --> 00:12:38.679
 train, bus, and two-day

00:12:38.679 --> 00:12:39.539
 meal ride

00:12:39.539 --> 00:12:41.179
 to reach the small town

00:12:41.179 --> 00:12:41.860
 in the mountains

00:12:41.860 --> 00:12:42.879
 of northern China

00:12:42.879 --> 00:12:44.120
 where she would finally

00:12:44.120 --> 00:12:45.279
 meet Mrs. Lawson.

00:12:46.060 --> 00:12:47.060
 So this is the story

00:12:47.060 --> 00:12:48.700
 of just getting there, right?

00:12:48.840 --> 00:12:50.480
 She hasn't even started ministry.

00:12:50.620 --> 00:12:51.120
 This is the story

00:12:51.120 --> 00:12:52.659
 of her getting there.

00:12:54.360 --> 00:12:55.919
 Now, Jeannie Lawson,

00:12:56.060 --> 00:12:57.560
 she lives in a very rough,

00:12:57.559 --> 00:13:00.719
 large house full of rubbish,

00:13:01.579 --> 00:13:03.439
 broken masonry everywhere.

00:13:03.859 --> 00:13:05.599
 All the rooms don't have windows

00:13:05.599 --> 00:13:06.419
 or doors.

00:13:06.619 --> 00:13:07.819
 It's very rough.

00:13:08.319 --> 00:13:09.599
 She plans to turn it

00:13:09.599 --> 00:13:11.759
 into an inn for travellers.

00:13:11.859 --> 00:13:12.339
 They're going to call it

00:13:12.339 --> 00:13:14.159
 the Inn of Eight Happinesses.

00:13:15.859 --> 00:13:19.539
 And so on Gladys' first night,

00:13:19.719 --> 00:13:20.359
 she's like,

00:13:20.439 --> 00:13:22.019
 where can I get changed?

00:13:22.019 --> 00:13:24.740
 And Jeannie Lawson says,

00:13:25.399 --> 00:13:26.699
 don't get changed.

00:13:27.139 --> 00:13:28.460
 Just sleep with your clothes on.

00:13:28.539 --> 00:13:29.799
 That way they can't get stolen.

00:13:30.679 --> 00:13:31.720
 And lucky she did

00:13:31.720 --> 00:13:32.600
 because when she woke up

00:13:32.600 --> 00:13:33.079
 in the morning,

00:13:33.259 --> 00:13:35.279
 it was to a sea of faces

00:13:35.279 --> 00:13:36.279
 in at the window

00:13:36.279 --> 00:13:38.279
 because the foreign woman

00:13:38.279 --> 00:13:39.019
 had arrived.

00:13:39.620 --> 00:13:40.500
 News had got around.

00:13:41.340 --> 00:13:42.319
 Now, why are they turning

00:13:42.319 --> 00:13:43.639
 this rough house

00:13:43.639 --> 00:13:46.199
 into a hotel and inn?

00:13:46.200 --> 00:13:49.040
 Well, in that part

00:13:49.040 --> 00:13:49.700
 of northern China,

00:13:49.759 --> 00:13:51.240
 you might be familiar with it.

00:13:51.300 --> 00:13:53.879
 It's very rough mountain terrain.

00:13:55.000 --> 00:13:57.140
 And so to have anything

00:13:57.140 --> 00:13:57.960
 travel through,

00:13:58.160 --> 00:13:59.460
 it was via mules.

00:13:59.740 --> 00:14:01.080
 It was like a mule highway.

00:14:01.940 --> 00:14:04.540
 So there was a need

00:14:04.540 --> 00:14:06.879
 for these mule riders

00:14:06.879 --> 00:14:08.000
 to find cheap,

00:14:08.200 --> 00:14:09.620
 simple overnight accommodation

00:14:09.620 --> 00:14:10.320
 and food.

00:14:10.900 --> 00:14:11.640
 Gladys had stayed

00:14:11.640 --> 00:14:12.320
 in some of them

00:14:12.320 --> 00:14:13.900
 on her trip into this place.

00:14:13.899 --> 00:14:16.379
 And so news soon

00:14:16.379 --> 00:14:17.439
 spread around the area

00:14:17.439 --> 00:14:18.500
 that, quote,

00:14:19.019 --> 00:14:20.579
 the inn of the foreign ladies

00:14:20.579 --> 00:14:21.959
 was clean,

00:14:23.360 --> 00:14:24.740
 the food is good,

00:14:25.879 --> 00:14:26.720
 and at night,

00:14:27.340 --> 00:14:28.600
 they have long stories

00:14:28.600 --> 00:14:29.659
 free of charge.

00:14:31.120 --> 00:14:32.179
 So what were these stories?

00:14:34.259 --> 00:14:35.399
 They told stories

00:14:35.399 --> 00:14:36.039
 from the Bible.

00:14:37.879 --> 00:14:39.000
 And in the end,

00:14:39.179 --> 00:14:39.919
 that's how Gladys

00:14:39.919 --> 00:14:40.960
 picked up the language,

00:14:42.120 --> 00:14:42.779
 which she says

00:14:42.779 --> 00:14:43.779
 is one of the biggest

00:14:43.779 --> 00:14:45.059
 miracles of all her time

00:14:45.059 --> 00:14:46.000
 there was picking up

00:14:46.000 --> 00:14:46.480
 the language.

00:14:46.939 --> 00:14:47.699
 She learnt it

00:14:47.699 --> 00:14:48.740
 through learning off

00:14:48.740 --> 00:14:49.559
 by heart

00:14:49.559 --> 00:14:51.659
 these Bible stories

00:14:51.659 --> 00:14:52.579
 and telling them.

00:14:55.799 --> 00:14:57.139
 Within about a year,

00:14:57.579 --> 00:14:59.059
 Jeannie Lawson had died.

00:14:59.259 --> 00:15:00.339
 And so young Gladys

00:15:00.339 --> 00:15:01.559
 is alone,

00:15:01.659 --> 00:15:02.839
 the only foreigner,

00:15:03.000 --> 00:15:03.939
 not just the only woman

00:15:03.939 --> 00:15:04.139
 foreigner,

00:15:04.139 --> 00:15:05.120
 the only foreigner

00:15:05.120 --> 00:15:08.319
 in that part of China.

00:15:08.320 --> 00:15:13.740
 one day,

00:15:14.000 --> 00:15:16.360
 a local magistrate

00:15:16.360 --> 00:15:18.420
 comes to Gladys

00:15:18.420 --> 00:15:19.220
 with a request.

00:15:19.820 --> 00:15:20.020
 Now,

00:15:20.060 --> 00:15:20.540
 it would have been

00:15:20.540 --> 00:15:22.620
 a very intimidating scene

00:15:22.620 --> 00:15:24.120
 because he came in

00:15:24.120 --> 00:15:25.160
 with armed guards,

00:15:25.300 --> 00:15:26.400
 they've got big swords

00:15:26.400 --> 00:15:27.740
 by their side,

00:15:27.820 --> 00:15:28.760
 he's a very intimidating

00:15:28.760 --> 00:15:30.060
 person

00:15:30.060 --> 00:15:32.180
 with a lot of power.

00:15:32.260 --> 00:15:33.100
 He comes to Gladys

00:15:33.100 --> 00:15:33.740
 with a request.

00:15:34.360 --> 00:15:34.920
 He says,

00:15:34.919 --> 00:15:35.879
 he now has

00:15:35.879 --> 00:15:37.539
 the personal responsibility

00:15:37.539 --> 00:15:39.559
 to ensure that foot binding,

00:15:40.399 --> 00:15:42.179
 which had been recently outlawed,

00:15:42.259 --> 00:15:43.199
 was eradicated

00:15:43.199 --> 00:15:44.219
 in his area.

00:15:45.179 --> 00:15:45.579
 And so,

00:15:45.799 --> 00:15:46.479
 you may be aware,

00:15:46.559 --> 00:15:46.979
 foot binding

00:15:46.979 --> 00:15:48.319
 is where they break

00:15:48.319 --> 00:15:49.179
 the foot

00:15:49.179 --> 00:15:50.219
 and bind it

00:15:50.219 --> 00:15:50.959
 in half

00:15:50.959 --> 00:15:52.199
 underneath

00:15:52.199 --> 00:15:54.179
 a young woman's feet.

00:15:54.659 --> 00:15:54.839
 Sorry,

00:15:54.939 --> 00:15:55.059
 yeah,

00:15:55.199 --> 00:15:55.459
 yeah.

00:15:58.259 --> 00:15:59.299
 So Gladys,

00:15:59.519 --> 00:16:00.079
 I said before,

00:16:00.139 --> 00:16:00.679
 she's tiny,

00:16:00.839 --> 00:16:01.819
 she's four feet,

00:16:01.899 --> 00:16:02.879
 ten inches tall.

00:16:02.879 --> 00:16:04.799
 She's got size three feet.

00:16:06.500 --> 00:16:08.360
 Her feet were considered giant

00:16:08.360 --> 00:16:09.860
 and the locals

00:16:09.860 --> 00:16:10.980
 would often like lift

00:16:10.980 --> 00:16:12.460
 the bottom of her skirt

00:16:12.460 --> 00:16:13.379
 to look at her,

00:16:13.480 --> 00:16:14.279
 like just marvel,

00:16:14.720 --> 00:16:15.679
 this massive feet

00:16:15.679 --> 00:16:16.379
 that she has.

00:16:17.360 --> 00:16:18.580
 And so the magistrate said

00:16:18.580 --> 00:16:19.159
 that as a woman

00:16:19.159 --> 00:16:19.960
 with big feet,

00:16:20.779 --> 00:16:21.620
 he needed her

00:16:21.620 --> 00:16:22.399
 to help inspect

00:16:22.399 --> 00:16:23.779
 women's feet

00:16:23.779 --> 00:16:24.379
 in the area

00:16:24.379 --> 00:16:25.480
 because men

00:16:25.480 --> 00:16:26.039
 weren't allowed

00:16:26.039 --> 00:16:26.840
 to do that job

00:16:26.840 --> 00:16:28.299
 and every other woman

00:16:28.299 --> 00:16:29.320
 had her feet bound.

00:16:29.320 --> 00:16:32.780
 So what's Gladys

00:16:32.780 --> 00:16:33.200
 going to do

00:16:33.200 --> 00:16:33.840
 in this moment?

00:16:36.640 --> 00:16:37.900
 She says to him,

00:16:38.900 --> 00:16:39.920
 I've come to China

00:16:39.920 --> 00:16:40.680
 to tell people

00:16:40.680 --> 00:16:41.240
 about the God

00:16:41.240 --> 00:16:41.720
 I worship.

00:16:43.240 --> 00:16:44.580
 If I take the job,

00:16:45.320 --> 00:16:46.160
 I'm going to use it

00:16:46.160 --> 00:16:46.960
 as an opportunity

00:16:46.960 --> 00:16:48.600
 to preach the gospel

00:16:48.600 --> 00:16:50.300
 to these isolated villages.

00:16:53.340 --> 00:16:54.560
 And he agrees

00:16:54.560 --> 00:16:56.300
 because I says,

00:16:56.380 --> 00:16:57.720
 I notice you Christian people

00:16:57.720 --> 00:16:59.180
 don't bind your feet.

00:17:00.420 --> 00:17:01.139
 A man's gods

00:17:01.139 --> 00:17:02.180
 are his own business.

00:17:03.080 --> 00:17:03.759
 Yes, you can go

00:17:03.759 --> 00:17:04.319
 and do that.

00:17:05.180 --> 00:17:05.980
 So she's given

00:17:05.980 --> 00:17:07.059
 government funding

00:17:07.059 --> 00:17:09.539
 and essentially security

00:17:09.539 --> 00:17:11.019
 to go into these

00:17:11.019 --> 00:17:12.299
 isolated villages

00:17:12.299 --> 00:17:13.160
 and towns

00:17:13.160 --> 00:17:14.519
 with the gospel.

00:17:15.559 --> 00:17:16.640
 And they would call out

00:17:16.640 --> 00:17:18.380
 her name

00:17:18.380 --> 00:17:20.100
 in Mandarin

00:17:20.100 --> 00:17:20.860
 was Aiwede.

00:17:21.160 --> 00:17:22.039
 That was the closest

00:17:22.039 --> 00:17:23.980
 to Aylward,

00:17:24.160 --> 00:17:24.600
 Aiwede,

00:17:24.819 --> 00:17:25.920
 and it meant virtuous one.

00:17:25.920 --> 00:17:27.600
 And they would

00:17:27.600 --> 00:17:30.080
 announce in the town

00:17:30.080 --> 00:17:30.779
 that she had arrived

00:17:30.779 --> 00:17:31.560
 and she became known

00:17:31.560 --> 00:17:32.500
 as the storyteller.

00:17:32.620 --> 00:17:33.680
 The storytellers arrived.

00:17:34.060 --> 00:17:34.720
 And so she would tell

00:17:34.720 --> 00:17:35.380
 these stories

00:17:35.380 --> 00:17:36.779
 in all these isolated villages.

00:17:37.779 --> 00:17:39.080
 And so Gladys

00:17:39.080 --> 00:17:39.759
 strikes me

00:17:39.759 --> 00:17:40.200
 as a woman

00:17:40.200 --> 00:17:41.860
 who was as wise

00:17:41.860 --> 00:17:42.759
 as a serpent

00:17:42.759 --> 00:17:44.300
 and innocent

00:17:44.300 --> 00:17:45.140
 as a dove

00:17:45.140 --> 00:17:45.940
 when it came

00:17:45.940 --> 00:17:46.740
 to opportunities

00:17:46.740 --> 00:17:48.180
 to talk about Jesus.

00:17:48.180 --> 00:17:48.519
 Yes.

00:17:48.519 --> 00:17:48.519


00:17:48.519 --> 00:17:48.519


00:17:48.519 --> 00:17:48.519


00:17:48.519 --> 00:17:48.519


00:17:48.519 --> 00:17:48.519


00:17:48.519 --> 00:17:48.519


00:17:48.519 --> 00:17:48.519


00:17:48.519 --> 00:17:48.519


00:17:48.519 --> 00:17:48.519


00:17:48.519 --> 00:17:48.519


00:17:48.519 --> 00:17:48.519


00:17:48.519 --> 00:17:48.519


00:17:48.519 --> 00:17:48.519


00:17:48.519 --> 00:17:48.519


00:17:48.519 --> 00:17:48.519


00:17:48.519 --> 00:17:48.519


00:17:48.519 --> 00:17:48.519


00:17:48.519 --> 00:17:48.519


00:17:48.519 --> 00:17:48.519


00:17:48.519 --> 00:17:48.519


00:17:48.519 --> 00:17:48.519


00:17:48.519 --> 00:17:48.519


00:17:48.519 --> 00:17:48.519


00:17:48.519 --> 00:17:48.519


00:17:48.519 --> 00:17:48.519


00:17:48.519 --> 00:17:48.519


00:17:48.519 --> 00:17:48.519


00:17:48.519 --> 00:18:04.579
 but Gladys feels awfully lonely as you can imagine she had expected at this point in her life to be

00:18:04.579 --> 00:18:11.680
 married to have children she's just lonely because she doesn't have a co-worker let alone a husband

00:18:11.680 --> 00:18:18.500
 she's praying God could you please send someone to help and preferably a man not necessarily to

00:18:18.500 --> 00:18:25.319
 marry him but just you know I need a guy around to do some of the hard stuff can you just please

00:18:25.319 --> 00:18:38.920
 send someone and God doesn't answer the prayer that way instead she's walking home one day

00:18:38.920 --> 00:18:47.720
 and she this young girl lying in the arms of a woman on the side of the road

00:18:47.720 --> 00:18:54.700
 this little girl is essentially a slave and she's probably hours away from death and Gladys

00:18:54.700 --> 00:19:05.559
 offers to buy this little girl the woman in whose care this girl was saw it as an opportunity to you

00:19:05.559 --> 00:19:12.160
 know make a few coins and so she sells her to Gladys for six pence that's probably like five

00:19:12.160 --> 00:19:21.200
 Australian dollars today so not much six pence and she takes her home and cares for her and she says

00:19:21.200 --> 00:19:30.360
 she calls this girl six pence she says six pence helped fill that aching void in her and of course

00:19:30.360 --> 00:19:36.240
 six pence wasn't alone in the circumstances she found herself in so she would bring other people

00:19:36.240 --> 00:19:44.559
 to Gladys for help yeah other orphans or other vulnerable children to Gladys and so Gladys keeps

00:19:44.559 --> 00:19:51.920
 accumulating more and more children over a hundred she ends up saying like I long for a moment to myself

00:19:51.920 --> 00:20:01.819
 now she cares for them she feeds them she teaches them including bible stories she speaks the gospel to

00:20:01.819 --> 00:20:10.159
 them now by this stage her town is repeatedly a war zone so soldiers would come in they would retreat

00:20:10.159 --> 00:20:17.099
 things would be decimated they would return again to more and more rubble it would happen again and again

00:20:17.099 --> 00:20:24.639
 and again and so really her city is crumbling around her she knows she needs to get these kids out

00:20:24.640 --> 00:20:34.520
 she needs to get them to safety now there's a very powerful woman who is has a lot of funding at her

00:20:34.520 --> 00:20:43.560
 disposal and she is helping care for what she calls them warfans war orphans and so she says to Gladys

00:20:43.560 --> 00:20:52.620
 look I can help you you just need to get the kids to me in this in the safe zone now that safe zone is 350

00:20:52.619 --> 00:20:58.319
 kilometers north across the mountains in the middle of a war

00:20:58.319 --> 00:21:09.199
 and so Gladys sets off on that mountainous mule track with over a hundred kids aged between three and

00:21:09.199 --> 00:21:19.819
 sixteen and so gruelling dangerous journey they have to beg for food along the way which is obviously scarce

00:21:19.819 --> 00:21:29.119
 in a war zone other villages would be completely abandoned as they made their way across they come

00:21:29.119 --> 00:21:38.960
 to the wide expanse of the yellow river what are they going to do there's not ferries running anymore

00:21:38.960 --> 00:21:44.740
 in a in a war zone there's no boats to be seen they can they cannot cross it

00:21:44.740 --> 00:21:57.640
 i was listening to a talk that Gladys gave in Sydney in the 1960s this week not many of the people that i

00:21:57.640 --> 00:22:05.819
 get to write about and study i actually get to hear their voices so it's amazing and she talked about this

00:22:05.819 --> 00:22:12.220
 moment on the banks of that river they slept out in the open for a couple of nights trying to think

00:22:12.220 --> 00:22:18.500
 about what to do as her breaking point that was her breaking point

00:22:18.500 --> 00:22:23.740
 how could God deliver them from that

00:22:23.740 --> 00:22:33.439
 could God be trusted in that situation on the banks of the yellow river she could not see a solution

00:22:33.440 --> 00:22:38.559
 God was not coming through could he be trusted

00:22:41.920 --> 00:22:47.519
 she'd been teaching the bible stories to uh those children in her care

00:22:49.440 --> 00:22:57.759
 and one of them that she must have taught them was the story of when israel leaves egypt

00:22:57.759 --> 00:23:04.559
 leaving pharaoh behind pharaoh and his armies are chasing the israelites and of course they come to

00:23:05.599 --> 00:23:10.960
 the river that they can't cross the red sea what are they going to do what's God going to do in this

00:23:11.599 --> 00:23:12.319
 situation

00:23:14.640 --> 00:23:25.279
 and this is what a kid said about this moment he said when we got to the river we waited and waited for a boat

00:23:25.279 --> 00:23:30.000
 they came to her with this story

00:23:31.839 --> 00:23:33.279
 and so he said we prayed

00:23:34.079 --> 00:23:39.680
 for the river to be opened so that we could walk across like the children of israel did

00:23:40.319 --> 00:23:43.119
 across the red sea but

00:23:44.639 --> 00:23:46.480
 God knew we were tired of walking

00:23:46.480 --> 00:23:56.400
 and so he sent a boat and that was far better and that's what he did a ferry finally came and i love

00:23:56.400 --> 00:24:04.240
 this kid's words here because it wasn't that the parting of the sea of the yellow river was harder than

00:24:04.240 --> 00:24:09.039
 a boat God was just more kind in sending a boat because their feet were really sore from walking they

00:24:09.039 --> 00:24:15.920
 didn't have to want to walk across the river bed they got across the river they continued the trek

00:24:16.480 --> 00:24:20.240
 going so high up sometimes up the mountains the clouds obscured them

00:24:24.240 --> 00:24:30.639
 it was a long month it was an agonizing journey they finally arrived where they could get help

00:24:30.640 --> 00:24:36.720
 and Gladys's body understandably completely shut down

00:24:39.280 --> 00:24:46.080
 she went to hospital doctors fully expected her to die she had typhoid pneumonia malnutrition

00:24:46.080 --> 00:24:54.080
 exhaustion she lay there for a month completely out of it unaware of her surroundings she recovered but

00:24:54.079 --> 00:24:57.919
 it took years she can't really remember the next two years of her life

00:25:01.119 --> 00:25:04.960
 when the chinese revolution began in 1949

00:25:05.679 --> 00:25:12.399
 she was forced to leave china and she returned to england and she never went back there she would

00:25:12.399 --> 00:25:19.279
 eventually go to taiwan to head an orphanage in 1957 and she died there in 1970

00:25:19.279 --> 00:25:26.960
 the city aged 68 and on her tombstone are those words that were read at the beginning that unless

00:25:26.960 --> 00:25:31.359
 a kernel of wheat falls to the ground there won't be new life

00:25:34.799 --> 00:25:39.039
 so i've told you some of the remarkable parts of her story and in many ways

00:25:40.240 --> 00:25:47.200
 it's a memorable story a lot more happens on the way it's a wild ride but this is the part that's

00:25:47.200 --> 00:25:53.840
 more remarkable to me her story nearly was forgotten because she was content for it to be

00:25:53.840 --> 00:26:03.039
 forgotten she was a woman so bound up with christ her christ-shaped humility meant she didn't care

00:26:03.039 --> 00:26:11.039
 if she was known or remembered it had no hold on her she didn't want or need to leave a legacy

00:26:11.039 --> 00:26:17.519
 she didn't desire that her life story be honored that someone write a biography about her

00:26:20.799 --> 00:26:27.200
 so let me tell you the story of how her story came to light and how it helps us reflect on that

00:26:27.200 --> 00:26:35.200
 pull to be remembered by the world so gladys returns to england in 1949 and there's a few lines

00:26:35.200 --> 00:26:40.960
 in the newspaper that report that she's returned home from being a missionary in china for 20 years

00:26:41.839 --> 00:26:49.599
 and so a bbc journalist and writer he sees those few lines in a newspaper he's working on a project

00:26:50.319 --> 00:26:58.559
 for bbc radio so think of it like modern podcasts he's doing a series uh called the undefeated so

00:26:58.559 --> 00:27:04.159
 he's looking for stories that kind of match with that theme the undefeated and he thinks i re i reckon

00:27:04.160 --> 00:27:12.160
 there's a story here so he goes to her home in london he asked gladys have you seen any adventures

00:27:13.440 --> 00:27:16.880
 that map with the theme of the undefeated

00:27:16.880 --> 00:27:23.360
 she says no nothing noteworthy has happened to me

00:27:27.760 --> 00:27:29.280
 that that journalist

00:27:30.480 --> 00:27:30.880
 alan

00:27:30.880 --> 00:27:37.200
 recorded that conversation and he remembered it word for word because it had such an impact on him

00:27:39.520 --> 00:27:45.840
 but surely he said in 20 years in china you must have had many strange experiences

00:27:45.839 --> 00:27:52.079
 others oh yes said gladys but i'm sure people would not be interested in them nothing very exciting

00:27:52.079 --> 00:27:57.839
 happened it was at least 15 minutes more before she confessed that she had

00:27:57.839 --> 00:28:01.359
 once taken some children across the mountains

00:28:03.439 --> 00:28:06.079
 and slowly the story emerged

00:28:07.199 --> 00:28:10.639
 and the rest is history it was turned into a book that he wrote

00:28:10.640 --> 00:28:20.800
 a film which gladys hated hated she hated the attention she hated becoming a household name

00:28:23.840 --> 00:28:30.160
 and so i marvel at her story it's an incredible one but more so i marvel at the fact that she didn't

00:28:30.160 --> 00:28:37.520
 desire to be remembered she's she was not the center of her story she would have been much more

00:28:37.519 --> 00:28:47.200
 comfortable being forgotten by the world why why is that for gladys well that journalist alan burgess

00:28:47.200 --> 00:28:52.720
 helps us understand that woman that he met on that fateful day this is what he writes he goes it was

00:28:52.720 --> 00:29:02.319
 not mock modesty on the part of gladys arwood the stories she had been telling were to her

00:29:02.319 --> 00:29:11.839
 her the greatest in the world taken straight from the pages of the new testament that her own adventures

00:29:11.839 --> 00:29:22.079
 might be worth setting down she had simply not considered so for gladys it was the stories that she told

00:29:22.079 --> 00:29:29.919
 every night to those mule travelers to those children in her care to those townspeople as she was a foot

00:29:29.920 --> 00:29:40.800
 binding inspector those were the stories that mattered everything else paled in comparison it was the legacy of jesus that she was in awe of not in awe of her own legacy

00:29:41.440 --> 00:29:50.240
 she had no need to build a monument to her own pride and ego it's not false modesty too which can be a temptation

00:29:50.240 --> 00:30:00.160
 her adventures seemed entirely remarkable in the shadow of the one in whose name she was doing these things

00:30:02.960 --> 00:30:15.039
 and so in that way i think gladys arwood models for us christ-shaped humility christ-shaped humility

00:30:15.039 --> 00:30:21.759
 it's not a white knuckling approach of getting through things it was a reliance on the lord

00:30:24.000 --> 00:30:31.680
 a humility came from and demonstrated her daily dependence on her lord

00:30:33.680 --> 00:30:39.519
 jesus captivated her not herself she didn't fill her own imagination

00:30:39.519 --> 00:30:48.639
 her own life didn't fill her mind the lord jesus did and so i pray that she would be someone who

00:30:48.639 --> 00:30:59.039
 encourages you on your journey with this same lord who's able to answer the same prayers in remarkable ways

00:30:59.039 --> 00:31:09.279
 that the one you serve is worthy of all honor and so in serving him we are completely free

00:31:10.639 --> 00:31:17.920
 to have christ-shaped humility the world and its opinion of us and the desire to be remembered doesn't

00:31:17.920 --> 00:31:23.680
 have to have a hold of us christ sets us free from that thank you

00:31:29.039 --> 00:31:55.039
 so